Let Go and Move On
by Ability King KK
Summary: Every year, Zero goes out to drown his sorrows as he thinks of his past mistakes.  What happens when a friend comes to talk him into letting go?


He found the Crimson Hunter right where he knew he'd be, drowning his sorrows at the local pub as he did every year around this time. This certainly had to end. X would have done it, but it was thought that someone else was more qualified to get it through Zero's head. Walking over to Zero, he sat down next to him at the bar.

"Zero."

"Signas."

"I think you've had enough, Zero," stated the taller Reploid as he glanced over the empty bottles next Zero.

Zero glanced at Signas with his bloodshot eyes. "You may be my commander, but I say when I've had enough."

Signas was a little glad that it took a lot more alcohol to get a Reploid drunk than it did a human. At least this way he could try to talk some sense into Zero. Might as well be blunt about it.

"You do need to get over her, Zero."

The blond glared at the man next to him. "Easy for you to say, Signas! You don't even know what it's like to loose someone close to you!"

"It has been years since her death, Zero. Besides, can you honestly tell me she felt the same about you as you did her?"

Zero was about to retort, but what Signas said made him stop. He looked at the black clad Reploid with confusion.

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

Signas let out a heavy sigh. "Zero, when you and Colonel always fought, who did she always try to stop?"

"…Me, but that's only because he was her brother and she didn't want to see him hurt."

"Hm, now answer this. During the Forth Maverick War, whom did she try to stop? You from going after Repliforce or Colonel and Repliforce's rebellion?"

"…She was always at the base trying to convince me to not fight against Colonel. I don't think she ever tried to convince Colonel to stop, now that I think about it."

"Exactly. Iris was a smart girl, Zero. She would have known what Repliforce was doing was wrong, even if they were manipulated by Sigma, yet she tried to stop your mission to stop them."

"Like I said, Colonel was her brother. She just didn't want to see him hurt."

"If that was the case, than that's all the more reason she should have been trying to stop him, not you. Family should always come first, but if they're doing something bad and you they are, you should do whatever it takes to stop them. It could even have been a possibility that she attacked you on the Final Weapon as a last ditch effort to push Repliforce's plans."

"Take that back! There was no way she would side with them!" shouted Zero, ready to slice Signas in half.

"Stand down, Zero! I said it was a possibility! It's also possible that Iris was never right in the head to begin with. If she attacked you because you killed Colonel, what would she have done if someone else were the one to take down Colonel? Would she have gone after them instead?"

Zero looked down, feeling tears in his eyes. What Signas said made a lot of sense. Could Iris have been with Repliforce the whole time? Would she have thrown her life away regardless of who killed Colonel? It all seemed unreal to Zero.

"But…"

"Zero, I know you loved her, but there's always the possibility that she didn't truly love you, as I said earlier. If she did truly love you, as you think she did, then wouldn't she want you to be happy?"

"…Yeah?"

"Then you need to let go and move on with your life. I'm not saying you need to forget Iris entirely though."

"It's going to be hard, Signas," said Zero with empty laughter.

"Maybe, but I think I know someone who can help you move on."

"Like anyone could help me on this. X can barely gather the courage to admit his feelings to Alia and Axl is just a kid. Who could possibly help me?"

"I'm sure she'll be more than willing to do whatever it takes," said Signas with a grin.

Zero raised an eyebrow at the "she" part of Signas' sentence. He then replied with a smirk, some of his former self returning. "She? You trying to set me up on a date, Signas? Never thought of you as a matchmaker."

"This is just a one time deal. Besides, the both of you could be good for each other. She'll help you get over Iris and you can help her break out of her shell," explained Signas. Zero looked confused at that last part, so Signas had to explain further. "She's a bit shy."

Zero tried to think of any shy girls he knew. No one came to mind, though a flash of purple went through his thoughts for some reason he couldn't explain. Either way, what could go wrong with Signas' matchmaking skills? Maybe the girl Signas was setting him up with really could help him get over Iris.

"I guess I'll go along with this. If I do fall for this girl you're setting me up with, it won't be anytime in the near future, I hope you know," said Zero as he stood up.

Signas followed suit. "You never know, Zero. It could be possible that now that your mind is not clouded on your past, you'll be more focused on your present and future."

The blond gave a grunt as the two exited the pub and headed back to headquarters. As much as Zero cared for and loved Iris, a small part of him agreed with Signas. It was time to let go of the past and reach for the future.

**FIN**

**-:-**

**Originally I was going to have X be the one to talk to Zero, but felt Signas was more suited as this conversation might've been OOC for X.**

**Honestly, I hate Iris. I find her annoying and, like Zero, she is one of the most overrated characters in the X series. I wanted to show the possible reasons for Iris' actions during the events of X4 as to my recollection; she never once tried to actually convince Colonel to stop what he was doing. I also wanted to show that Zero really does need to move on and stop being so emo all the time over something he can't change.**

**Lastly, if you haven't guessed who the shy girl is, shame on you.**


End file.
